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Customs Proposes To Substantially Transform The Substantial Transformation Test

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.08.08

By Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 73 Fed. Reg. 43385 (July 25, 2008), Customs & Border Enforcement has proposed substituting, for many purposes including rulings under the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), a "tariff shift" approach for determining country of origin in lieu of the longstanding and subjective "case-by-case" approach to determining the place where "substantial transformation" occurred. Under the proposed rule, contractors selling products under the contracts subject to the TAA would have to reevaluate their products under the rigid, pre-established formulaic tariff shift analysis to ensure products with significant non-designated country content qualify for sale to the federal government.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.31.25

Raising the Bar: New York Expands Consumer Protection Law with FAIR Business Practices Act

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law the most significant update to New York’s consumer protection law in 45 years — the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices Act, or FAIR Business Practices Act — expanding the scope of the state’s authority to now challenge unfair and abusive business practices. The measure, backed by New York Attorney General (“AG”) Letitia James and signed on December 19, 2025, amends New York’s General Business Law § 349, giving regulators new tools to protect consumers and promote fair marketplace practices....